Closer Than Far, Deleted Scene 1: Axel and Reno
by TMJones
Summary: From my AU Akuroku fanfic, Closer Than Far--a continuation of Chapter 11 on that same night. Axel is confused about Roxas' actions, and then he and his older brother Reno have a bonding/serious moment.


A/N: So I was going through my document I keep of unfinished/discarded writing and found this 'deleted scene', you could say. I couldn't glean anything from it for later chapters, and I couldn't just bring myself to delete it (I worked so hard on it!), so I'm doing the only thing there is left to do to a writing piece that doesn't fit in its story: I'm posting it separately!

This is what happens the same night as the end of chapter 11, after Reno came back from dropping Roxas off at his house. If you want to read about all the details/why it's not in the fic, you can read the author's note at the bottom.

Closer than Far, Deleted Scene 1: Axel and Reno

* * *

"I'm back!"

Axel let the bread dough he'd just finished mixing fall onto the cutting board with a _flop_.

"You remembered how to make bread?"

"I looked it up," Axel said, indicating the cookbook he'd pulled from their small collection they'd put together over the years. Reno situated himself in the doorway, leaning on the frame, a smile on his face. Axel's eyes narrowed.

"What are _you_ grinning about?" he asked sourly, "Did Roxas' mom give you a lobotomy, or something—?"

"You _like _someone!"

Axel rolled his eyes. Reno always got a little giddy when Axel had a crush. He always had, even before Axel knew he was gay and was still trying to like girls.

"Yes, Reno," Axel said, pulling out the bread pan and slamming it on the counter, "I _like _someone!"

Reno's smile vanished.

"Whoa," he said, pushing himself off the doorway and coming to stand next to Axel, "What's this about?"

Axel didn't reply, instead focusing on shoving the bread dough into the pan a little more forcefully than he had to.

"This isn't about my hitting Roxas, is it?"

"No," Axel said darkly.

"Then what?"

"Roxas."

"What about him? Is he a homophobe, or something—?"  
"No, he's not a homophobe!" Axel snapped.

"Oh, well that's good," Reno said, "I don't have to go beat him up, then."

"You can go ahead anyway, I really don't care right now."

"Can I know _why_?" Reno pressed.

"He's confusing me, that's why!"

"...that's not a very good reason."

Axel went to the other side of the kitchen to wash his hands, ramming the faucet on hard into the 'on' position that Reno flinched.

"Hey, don't break the kitchen!"

"Sorry."

"_What _is going on? Did something happen earlier today? You were fine when you came home from school this afternoon—"

"Roxas confronted me about how I was acting."

Axel finished drying his hands and turned around, finally facing his brother. Reno was frowning, confused.

"Acting how?"

Axel sighed. Here goes...

"Well at first I couldn't talk to him because I couldn't think when he showed up, but then I decided that I had to, since Namine gave him a ticket to the concert this weekend, and then he started talking to me 'cause I was sitting outside in the senior courtyard by myself, and then we started talking and it was good and I was starting to get over it and we were getting along, and it was great! But _then_," Axel continued, cutting Reno off before he could even start to comment, "he dragged me off to a corner today and asked me about why I was acting weird around him, and he was like, 'if you were a girl I would think you liked me'. So then I was like, 'well, that doesn't matter to some of us' and then he _didn't respond_ and _he left_!"

Reno blinked.

"Wow, that's—"

"So _then_—"

"Oh, there's more."

"—I was like 'okay, he doesn't like me'. But then when he was over here, he's acting all...different! It was as if nothing happened today! So what am I supposed to think, is he just weird, is he even gay or not, I have no idea! I don't know if even _he_ knows what's going on, but if he _does_, then he's _messing_ with me!"

Reno just stared at him for a moment. Then, to Axel's surprise—he laughed.

"_What's so funny_?! I feel like my head's going to explode!"

That just made Reno laugh harder. Despite himself, Axel resisted the urge to storm out of the room like he probably would have done, instead crossing his arms and waiting for Reno to finish. Which he did soon enough.

"You're getting too worked up about this," He said.

"How?"

"Well first off, I don't think you need to worry about his being straight."

Despite himself, Axel felt a small thrill of excitement flash through him.

"W—why do you think that?"

"Okay, I may not swing that way, but I know a moment when I see one. Seriously. It looked like a bad chick-flick when I came back from putting the first aid kit away. Well, until I scared you," Reno added with a grin. He laughed.

"That was fun..."

"...Seriously?"

"Yeah, your expressions were hilarious—"

"No, I mean about Roxas!"

"Oh, yeah, that too."

Axel rolled his eyes. Again.

"I don't think he's the type to mess with you, either," Reno continued, "He's just a guy that likes to keep his grades up. A bit dense, and maybe a little on the snappy side, but I wouldn't suspect him of messing with you."

Axel's eyes narrowed, at Reno's description.

"How do _you_ know so much?"

Reno put his hands up.

"Hey, I just wanted to check to see if he was a scumbag or not."

"I knew it!" Axel announced, "You grilled him!"

"Well yeah, what did you think I was doing, talking about the weather?"

"What did you ask him?" Axel demanded.

"Normal stuff," Reno said, shrugging, "I asked him what he was going to do with his life."

"...And?" Axel asked, when Reno didn't continue.

"That was it."

"...So what does he want to do with his life?"

"If you're so infatuated with him, why don't you go ask him?"

"What—? Hey!"

Reno laughed again.

"If I told you, that would be cheating."

"That's what Namine said when I asked her!"  
"Yeah, well, she's right."

"Man—! Tell mee!" Axel whined.

"No!"

"_Yes_...!"

* * *

Twenty minutes and a lot of nonsensical goofing off later, they were sitting on the couch in the living room, watching TV until the bread rose. Axel felt considerably better now that he had vented about Roxas—and a little less confused.

"You always find the strangest people to go crazy over," Reno said.

"What? I do not—"

"Do I need to remind you who you fell for the second you found out you were gay?"

"Hey! At least this guy might _not_ be straight!"  
"Oh, he's a fruit all right," Reno said with a laugh, "believe me, a straight guy would not have been tolerating what he has been."

"Well, maybe he's just...tolerant...?" Axel offered.  
Reno looked at Axel.

"I'll bet you five bucks that if you made a move on him, he wouldn't run away screaming."

It only took Axel a few seconds to contemplate this.

"...Are you serious?"

"What? No, I'm just saying!" Reno said, over Axel's laughing, "Geez, don't scare the poor kid!"

"Come on, it'd be fun—!"  
"I'm not giving you five bucks!"

That just made Axel laugh more.

"Why don't you try getting to know him, or something? You know, the normal way?" Reno said, while Axel calmed down again, "I know you act like a freak circus when you get nervous, but you could at least try this time. I think you damaged Demyx for life with your antics."

"The way he acts is not my fault," Axel said.

"He flinches more now than he did when he first started coming over here, I swear...."

"Oh, thanks."

"I'm just saying," Reno said, "Roxas seems like a nice kid. Don't scare him off before you've gotten to know him."

Axel sighed.

"So he doesn't hate me?" he asked.

Reno shrugged.

"As far as I can tell," he said. "Not that I'm an expert on this kind of thing, but he kind of put you on the spot today. Just 'cause you didn't say the right thing doesn't mean he hates you."

"...you really mean that?" Axel asked, in a small voice.

"_Yes_," Reno said, nodding, "I _really_ mean it."

Axel felt the grin spread across his face.

"Uh-oh," Reno said, glancing over at him again, "What're you thinking?"

"Nothing!" Axel said, his voice suddenly at a higher pitch. He drew his knees up under his chin, still grinning.

Reno shook his head.

"My god, you've got it bad—"

"Ooh!" Axel cut him off, "What was his house like?"

Reno gave him the same strange look Axel had given him earlier.

"It was a house?" he said, "And they live in it...?"

"Did you get invited inside?"

"No, because I had to come back here and babysit yours truly."

"Please tell me you didn't say that."

"No, I didn't say that," Reno said with a laugh, "Axel, I just took him back home. His mom came running out all worried, and I told her what happened. Then she yelled at Roxas and took away his skateboard, and then he went inside, and then his mom and I talked."

"What about?" Axel pried.

"I told her about my jobs, and how I'm your guardian and all that. She seemed like she was feeling bad for us."

"Oh," Axel said.

"She's a nice person," Reno continued. His tone of voice was strange. Axel turned to see his brother looking somewhat sad.

"...Nice as in like how mom was."

Axel looked at the carpet, his grin suddenly gone. He wished he could remember their mom. Reno had had five years with her to remember, and Axel only had nine months. Which he couldn't remember if he tried. He'd seen the family photos—she was very pretty. Reno had said Axel acted a lot like her.

"...I'm kind of jealous of their family," Reno continued.

"Why?" Axel asked quietly. Reno hardly ever talked about serious things—Axel always suspected that part of it was because he wanted to keep things upbeat, even in their situation. If Reno acted happy, Axel would be happier, and their situation would be happier. Axel appreciated the logic, but...sometimes it put a distance between Axel and his brother. So when Reno did decide to talk, Axel always listened intently, and filed away everything Reno said in those few moments so that he could think back on them later, for times when he refused to say anything.

"Well, they _have_ one," Reno said, "and they're all...there for each other."

Axel nodded. He hadn't met Roxas' family, but he knew Sora and Roxas were really close. He could just see their mom yelling at him about being safe, and taking away his skateboard. It seemed so normal.

"I guess I never really think about it, but...just seeing them all there—'cause everyone came out to ask about Roxas later; his mom, his dad, and his brother were all out there—I guess it just made me think."

Axel had put his chin on his knees as Reno talked. Reno really was under a lot of pressure. He had to keep both jobs and make sure they both had money to pay for everything. He really wanted Axel to finish high school—probably more than Axel wanted to, even on his most motivated days. He'd never say that in front of Reno, though.

"And I mean, a lot of people look all surprised and worried when I tell them about how we live, that's not new, but...I don't know..."

"It's getting to you?"

Reno turned from the TV to look at Axel.

"Do you realize how different we'd be if we had people like Roxas' parents as our parents?"

"Yeah," Axel said flatly, "but we don't."

Reno looked away, and heaved a heavy sigh.

"I guess I shouldn't get hooked on it."

"That would be a good idea," Axel replied, "I mean, think about it—we've only a couple more months of this and then I graduate. Then we can both do our own thing—"

"That's another thing I've been thinking about," Reno said, "What're _you_ going to do after high school?"

Axel turned back to the TV, not really seeing what was on the screen. He and Reno had had this conversation before. Axel always gave him a good line about how he was going to be a musician, but somehow...his heart wasn't in it today.

"You've got to come up with something other than becoming a famous singer, or whatever."

"I was thinking anything to do with music. It doesn't have to be singing."

"Teaching?"

Axel shrugged.

"Maybe."

"You've got to put food on the table somehow," Reno said. "and if you're going to be a teacher, you've got to get a degree for it. You should have been thinking about this a long time ago."

"I know," Axel sighed.

"If you keep not thinking about it, you'll end up not doing anything. I'm not going to be here when school's out—I'm scheduled to get deployed for on-field training within days after your graduation." Reno got up. "You need to get it together, Axel. Seriously."

Axel watched him go into the kitchen and check the bread. He knew how crucial it was for him to get some kind of income before he graduated. Reno had already done everything he could, and more. Axel needed to start making his own way now.

The only problem was that Axel hadn't come up with a rational fall-back plan, from being a famous singer; if things completely blew up in his face, all he could think of doing was starting over. Reno didn't think it was a good idea, and they'd had fights over it a few times. Despite everything, though, there was no other plan to Axel. He just hoped things worked out the way he wanted them to—otherwise he'd have to come up with something fast. But he was good at winging it, so things would work out somehow...

"Bread's in the oven," Reno said, flopping back down on the couch.

"Good, I'm hungry."

"Yeah, me too."

They settled back into their usual selves after that, tossing jokes back and forth, ignoring their hunger until the bread was done. Which they had to ration out, otherwise the whole loaf would have been gone in one sitting. Then Axel crashed in bed, falling asleep to the sounds of Reno getting ready to go to work.

* * *

A/N: So there it is. Axel acts (more) like a teenage girl, and Reno is suddenly an expert on relationships that he hasn't had. We'll say they were having a touch of the 'Out of Character' disease, it was making them loopy.

Everything here is still within the confines of the storyline, though, so you can say that it still happened— the only thing that could be seen as straying from what actually happens is Axel's attitude towards Roxas' actions the day before. But, you could also take this as just his working through things before he gets to where he is the next day at school where the fic pics up again in chapter 12, the day before the concert.

Speaking of which, this originally was going to BE chapter 12, before I decided to rewrite it from Namine's perspective. I wanted to continue on with the storyline, instead of putting the concert chapter back by ANOTHER week— I thought that would be a bit overkill. Plus, I wanted Axel's attitude to be different towards Roxas' mixed actions. So in the final version he's just confused about them, instead of angry/flustered like he is here. Also, I used chapter 14 (and Demyx himself) to reveal that Axel liked him at one point. I wanted it to seem less crack-ish than I thought it came off here, although now that I look at it, it's kind of funny...

I was going to delete the first part of this and then use the part where Reno gets serious about their sucky living situation (and where he bugs Axel about a job), but I figured that, while I am going to put that in later in the fic, I wouldn't be able to use any part of what he says here. It's too integrated into the scene it's already in, and it would just look weird if I cut and pasted it somewhere else. So that'll just be written from scratch again. Plus, Reno's character is probably going to say it in a more Reno-like way. Here I'm just kind of writing down thoughts, so he really doesn't sound like what I've made him out to be in this fic.

That being said, yes. I put too much thought into this fic. I overanalyze every chapter like crazy and then throw it at my sister for a beta reading when I'm sick of looking at it. And that's how it goes, lol.

WOW THIS AUTHOR NOTE IS LONG.

Anyway. Happy weekend, and until Wednesday!

--Trempush.


End file.
